Teaching at XISU’s School of Translation Studies

Job Description

If you are a university graduate with a degree in translation, interpreting, or other language-related areas, why not consider teaching at XISU’s School of Translation Studies?
The languages of instruction are Chinese and English. Overseas teachers with English as their native language, or with a suitably high level of English as a second language, will find teaching at XISU’s STS a comfortable experience—XISU’s students are often considered to have the best general English ability among university students in the Xi’an area. This means that even first-year undergraduates are able to comprehend lessons taught in English relatively easily, although you may have to simplify, repeat and paraphrase some material to suit the classroom environment. If you have Chinese as a second language, you are welcome to teach in Chinese, although a good proportion of English is preferred, as it provides listening practice for the students. Opportunities for face-to-face communication with native or high-level speakers of English are still relatively hard to come by for many students, so the classroom is a good place for them to build their English-language skills.

If you would like to submit an expression of interest, you can send it to us at sts@xisu.edu.cn.

Some basic information for prospective international teachers

You will teach at XISU’s new campus in Chang’an, on the southern outskirts of the Xi’an metro area, and will be provided with accommodation in newly-built apartments on the old Yanta campus, in south-central Xi’an. A full-time international coordinator based at the Yanta campus will help you with information, queries, and to solve any problems that may arise. The coordinator also manages salary payments and employment contracts.
A special bus is provided for international teachers, and connects the two campuses with a journey each way for the morning and afternoon teaching periods. The journey between the campuses takes about 35-40 minutes. The international coordinator will provide more information.

The 616 city bus also connects the two campuses, with the southern end of the service terminating at XISU, and the central part of the route passing the Yanta campus. The 616 bus departs every 15 minutes, but can be very crowded, especially on Friday afternoons northbound, and in the mornings southbound. There are two main teaching sections: 8:00am to 12:00 noon (containing two periods), and 2:00pm to 4:00pm (containing one period). Classes are nominally one hour and forty minutes long, with each half being 50 minutes. This is slightly flexible, but students do have a very busy schedule, particularly at undergraduate level, so providing them with a break in the middle of the period is strongly recommended for best results. There are several main teaching and administration blocks in the Chang’an campus (blocks JA to JI, each with a three-numeral code; e.g. JD315 is classroom 15, in D block, on the third floor), and the special blocks, which contain laboratories, administration facilities, and some classrooms (blocks SA to SD, also with three-numeral codes). The translation and interpreting Internship Base and various associated laboratories are located in block SC, on the third floor. The main administration area for the STS is in block JI.

You will be provided with office space, complete with Wi-Fi connection, so that you can do your work on the Chang’an campus when not teaching.
In the School of Translation Studies (STS), a teacher will be assigned to you as a liaison—they will help you to deal with any issues specific to your teaching within the School. Undergraduate and postgraduate secretaries within the STS are responsible for grades and other administration for the undergraduate and postgraduate programs offered at the STS. There are a number of different classroom types. The most common type is a small
classroom, seating about 25-30 students, which contains a lectern and a wall-mounted touch-screen computer, running Windows 7 and Microsoft Office. This can be used for presentations, editing and translation exercises, and internet research. Larger lecture theatres seating 100 or more are also available, with a lectern, microphone, and a large-scale projection system. There are also computer labs available, for special tasks such as group exercises. These labs generally need to be booked in advance; the undergraduate or postgraduate secretaries will arrange booking for you.